Mention Patch in Menomonee Falls to receive a FREE eBook.

I just finished writing my 6th book on the Bible. The latest book is on the second half of Mark's Gospel chapters 9 to 16. I want to give away 300 FREE copies in the ePUB format. You can read these books on any of the new tablets, laptops, or on a PC by downloading Adode© Digital Editions for free.

The book is a verse by verse collection of short stories that help to explain what Jesus taught His disciples and how they reacted to the lessons. Mark has a quick style of writing which makes it easy to see how Jesus took His disciples through a series of events to equip them with the skills they would need to progress in their own personal ministries. In chapters 9 to 16 Jesus teaches about relationships while continuing to teach His disciples how to understand scripture. Why did His disciples change the subject every time Jesus tried to tell them about the prophesies He came to fulfill and how did this effect their experience at the cross? After reading this, you will have a deeper understanding of not only Jesus' experience at the cross, but a number of other characters involved and the lessons each teaches for us to understand today.

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Here is a small sample:

As they traveled back to Jerusalem the disciples stopped in the middle of the road. They stared at the withered fig tree. Wasn't that the tree Jesus inspected yesterday and cursed? Peter ran ahead for a closer look. The tree was withered from the roots to the tip of each branch. Dead leaves which were green yesterday lay on the ground surrounding the tree. Peter exclaimed, "Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!" Did the disciples know why? Did the disciples remember what Jesus told them about bearing fruit? Did they realize trees represented people? I have seen wicked and ruthless people flourishing like a tree in its native soil. But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them! (Psalms 37:35-36 NLTse). Did they forget how God used a tree to represent king Nebuchadnezzar?

Peter's mind immediately went back to the traditional beliefs in prophecy. If Jesus can kill trees, He can use this power to defeat the Roman's and any other enemy by eliminating their food supply. No enemy can stand before a power that controls everything that grows. His mind drifted off to possibilities and how they might be used.

What the disciples had not noticed was the fact all the moisture was removed from the tree. It was a dry tree. Life giving water was withdrawn from every leaf, branch, and limb. The truck and roots were as dry as the ground around it. Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:10 NLTse). Jesus showed them, God does not prepare moist or productive wood for the fire. Every branch will be examined for fruit before judgment is passed. When there is no evidence of fruit, everything will be lost. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really listen or understand. (Matthew 13:12-13 NLTse).

 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God." The disciples wondered what a dead tree had to do with faith. They all looked at Jesus with a confused look in their eyes. It almost made Jesus laugh, but this was a matter they had to learn. Not only their future, but the future of the world relied on their faith. Without faith, they would become as fruitless and dry as the tree. Jesus continued the lesson. "I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart." The disciples were even more bewildered. Yesterday they saw Him tearing up the temple court, flipping over tables, opening cages and pens to set birds and lambs free. They saw a look in His face and heard a tone of voice they never saw or heard before. Now Jesus was talking about throwing mountains into the sea. What about all the towns and villages, families, homes, animals on the mountain. Surely Jesus was not referring to a real mountain.

Jesus looked at the disciples become more perplexed. He knew they were having trouble understanding. He wanted them to see the power available to them. He knew the withered tree made an impression on them. They had to first learn about the power offered to them. Then they had to learn how to use it. So Jesus continued in simple terms. "I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too."

This really confused the disciples. They knew Jesus was teaching them how to look back and compare details, but what did any of these things have in common? Jesus rides a little donkey into Jerusalem, then He leaves for the night. On the way back, He curses a fig tree just because it didn't have fruit. They go to the temple where Jesus turns over every table and drives out every bird and lamb. They leave Jerusalem again. Now on the way back, they find the fig tree dead. Jesus compares faith to casting a mountain into the sea. Now He is talking about praying, believing and forgiving. What did all of this have in common?

Jesus was changing His way of teaching. He was not pointing them back, He was pointing them forward to the cross. They would not listen when He tried to tell them about the prophecies He was about to fulfill, so He was giving them something to look back to, after the cross.